Hello, friends. Welcome to the greatest sports week of the year, when small-minded hicks from schools you've never heard of (and Harvard) get to be a punching bag for the nation’s elite basketball programs. I’m Jim Nantz and this is my partner Clark Kellogg. But enough about him. I have a better life than you, as evidenced by the fact that I’ll be calling 12 basketball games this month and then will head to Augusta National, where I will narrate The Masters, a traditional unlike any other™, on CBS. Also, I’m married to a 33-year-old and I live on the seventh hole at Pebble Beach. Fuck you, America.

- Next Wednesday, I’ll be hosting Phillies quizzo at Chickie's and Pete's in Audubon. Also, enjoy tournament specials from 12-4 this Thursday and Friday at all Chickie’s and Pete’s locations.

- If you plan on filling out a bracket or betting on games this month (so, that’s all of you), you must check out Godfather Locks and follow them on Twitter (@GodfatherLocks) for winners. Enter code “Crossing” for 30% off a weekly subscription. And then you can pretend that you won your office pool all by yourself.

- Each day during March, Philly Phaithful will have three deals up to 33% off. See them here. Or, ladies, check out PP’s new sister store, Broad Street Broad, for their new spring arrivals.

- Tickets for as low as $85 to NCAA Tournament games at the Wells Fargo Center with Crossing Broad Tickets. Keep checking back throughout the week as we round up the best prices available on the secondary market. You can also pick up tickets for Dayton and Kansas City.

- Lonely, bored, or just need something to do with your hand? Girls of Philly has over 10 year of local girls. Girls you may know. Local ones. Naked. This link is suitable for work, but after that, you’re own your own.

- Our newest sponsor, Tour Golf Revolution allows you to play competitive golf by creating your very own PGA style golf tour. Their unique, open playing format will allow you to grow your tour faster than ever. You play golf, their site handles the rest. Very cool service worth checking out.

- Monkey’s Uncle has an unreal selection of retro Phillies gear. Check them out in Doylestown or shop online and use code BROAD to get $10 off orders of $50 or more.

- Roy Halladay was pulled from his start after one inning yesterday. He was supposedly sick and threw up, but the fact that he showed up in Clearwater this morning to get medicine, ostensibly for a stomach bug, has some wondering if there’s more to the story. Pretty much anything about Halladay is conjecture, and I know there were all sorts of rumors about him being (we’ll call it) ill last year, but ever since that day he overheated in Chicago in 2011, something has seemed off about him. And though he’s probably just getting old, you can’t help but wonder if there is more to the story.

Regardless of what – if anything – is wrong with Doc, can we stop talking about his decreased velocity? We knew this last year. No one is surprised that his fastball is in the high-80s.

- For some reason, Adam Aron thinks it’s a good idea to keep reminding fans that the Sixers lost to the Heat:

The St. John’s basketball team subscribes to Aron’s tweeting philosophy. Here’s their Tweet from last night… about making the NIT:

Mediocrity, FTW!

- Michael Young was the only Phillie to shave his head for the Tampa Bay Rays’ “Cut for the Cure.” Pretty cool:

- I spoke with former Daily News gossip columnist and Newspaper Guild President Dan Gross on Episode 2 of Crossing Streams. He talked about breaking the Dry Island story and the time Allen Iverson told him , “Kiss my ass.”

Now publicly up for sale, the "Rocky II" house's asking price is $139,000. Not too shabby for a house mired in history. Before becoming an adolescent, I frequented this house many a time. A month didn't go by that I didn't visit my aunt with my family. As I grew older and had more responsibility, that changed. However, for her birthday every year, Christmas night, we all would go over there and have another year full of great memories to tell. And she never let anyone hear the end of it. "You know, this house was in "Rocky II." I let them film here. They gave me a lot of dough for them to do that. You're gonna be an actor someday and do the same thing. You're gonna film your movies here. And you're gonna give me money for it, too." As we would laugh at the jokes she would tell, the constant pride my aunt felt that they filmed that movie at her house was evident. Everyone knew. The whole block. The whole family. Some random people here and there. But, now she's gone, and the house I semi grew up in will be part of another family.

12 Comments

If Roy Halladay were a mound tactician like Greg Maddux who never threw harder than low 90’s (if that) instead of a blow-it-by-you fireballer, nobody would give a damn that his velocity is only in the high 80’s. I don’t want to say Doc is cooked, it’s too soon for that, still, you have to wonder if we’ve seen his best and all that’s left is the inevitable and unstoppable decline into mediocrity.

Does this asshole just park in front of any establishment he goes to? I dont give a fuck who he is. Wish someone would tow that shit or drop a dump on the hood and smear vasaline on the windows and mirrors.